Sebastian comes from Scarlet Aquatics, the Rutgers-based club team, where he swims for Tom Speedling: the man who among others coached National Teamers Bobby Savulich (another Michigan man), Ashley Steenvoorden, and Rebecca Soni.

“Michigan has the perfect mixture of academics and athletics in my mind,” said Sebastian, who is a two-time Scholastic All-American. “I felt right at home with the coaching staff and team. I look forward to being a part of the team in the fall.”

Sebastian is primarily an IM’er, with yards bests of 1:52.43 and 3:58.56, and is solid through all four strokes.

Over the summer, he suffered a bad knee injury on his birthday (that included getting 50 stitches) just four weeks out from Junior Nationals. The long course performance he put up at that meet despite the time away from the pool and heavy training says that he’s probably ready for a big pop as a senior. Those times include a 56.2/2:05.6 in the 100 and 200 meter flys; a 58.3 in the 100 meter back, and 1:07.4/2:23.6 in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes.

Sebastian is on the younger end of the class (he didn’t turn 17 until July), and in boys especially that can make a marked difference. He’s a high-potential guy for the Michigan coaching staff, and a bit under-the-radar, which is a classification that they’ve had a lot of success with in the last 2 years.

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder of SwimSwam.com.
He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming.
Aside from his life on the InterWet, …